Michigan lawmakers select leaders for next session

LANSING, MI - Incoming Michigan lawmakers on Thursday settled on new leaders for their respective caucuses, choosing who will lead them in the 2019-2020 legislative session.

Those selections are:

Senate Majority Leader-elect Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint

House Speaker-elect Lee Chatfield, R-Levering

House Democratic Leader-elect Christine Greig, D-Farmington Hills

New House leaders

The new House Speaker-elect is Lee Chatfield, a Republican who has been in office since 2015. He was a teacher at his alma mater, Northern Michigan Christian Academy in Burt Lake, before joining the legislature. This session he serves as chair of two committees.

Unlike the past several House Speakers, he will be working with a Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, next year. He expressed a willingness to work with her and House Democrats, as well.

"The fact is that every single one of us were elected to improve our state, to make sure we're moving in the right direction, and we're going to be working as House Republicans with anyone and everyone who has that same objective," Chatfield said.

As far as priorities go, he said the entire caucus would get together to form an action plan in the coming weeks. He said Michigan needed to put more money into roads, improve government accountability and make changes to the state's auto insurance system.

On the other side of the aisle, House Democratic Leader-elect Christine Greig also came into the legislature in 2015. She comes from a business background and got her start in politics by being highly involved in her local parent teacher association. She currently serves as the House Democratic Floor Leader.

She said Michigan voters turned out in great numbers and have priorities.

"The message was clear. We need to return to policies that put people at the center," Greig said.

"We have to have great schools, we have to have clean water, we have to have wonderful roads, as well, and people have to have great jobs. We are going to be working on this and working hard."

Shirkey, Ananich to lead Senate

Shirkey, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, said Senate Republicans planned to keep working on a variety of issues mostly around freedom and opportunity.

"The Senate Republicans are not going to change course in what we've been on for the last eight years. Everything we do is going to be oriented and focused on making sure that we create an environment that is attractive to capital investment, the creation of jobs and maximizing opportunities," Shirkey said.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Shirkey has served in the Senate since 2014. Some of his signature issues have included Right to Work legislation, which he sponsored, and more recently the bill he sponsored putting work requirements on Medicaid recipients.

Ananich, who already serves as Senate Minority Leader, said the political dynamics, with a Democratic governor and five additional members of the Democratic caucus, would be different.

"I think it's going to change quite a bit. I mean we're obviously going to be a relevant caucus, and a lot of issues that families in Michigan care about that were kind of silenced sometimes are going to be a part of the discussion now," Ananich said.

During next year's session, which starts in January of 2019, Democrats want to address issues like safe drinking water, roads and transparency, Ananich said. He acknowledged that some Democratic priorities, like repealing Right to Work or reinstating prevailing wage, are likely off the table given the fact that Democrats are still in the minority.